NASA officials announced in a press conference today that the InSight lander on Mars will likely stop operating at the end of 2022, following three years of scientific work on the surface of the Red Planet.
InSight arrived on Mars in November 2018, and during its time on the Martian surface it has collected remarkable data on the planet's structure and the seismic events that emanate from its interior. [...]
But now, the lander is beset with dust that has settled on its solar panels, hindering its ability to take in light and generate power. The InSight team came up with a McGuyver-esque way of shaking some of that dust off: by scooping up Martian soil and dropping it on the dust, they were able to marginally clean up the panels. That maneuver was done successfully six times, according to Kathya Zamora Garcia, the Deputy Project Manager for InSight.
In its tenure, the lander has detected 1,313 marsquakes to date. When it began its science, InSight was capable of running for about 5,000 watt-hours per sol (Martian day); now, overwhelmed by the Martian dust, the lander can only manage 500 watt-hours per sol. [...]
Barring any Martian miracles, the fastidious InSight lander is on its last legs. For every one of its struggles and failures, the lander produced a bevy of data on the buried secrets of rocky worlds beyond our own. So thanks, InSight, for all your unheralded perseverance.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 18 2022, @10:28PM
insight signing off
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 18 2022, @11:40PM (1 child)
What's the point of being a superhero if you can't help your pals? Surely a brief flyover would blow away the dust that's hampering InSight.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 19 2022, @04:13PM
Ingenuity might not survive the coming winter either. Until we have boots on the ground permanently Mars will remain a place where good robots go to die.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday May 19 2022, @12:24AM (6 children)
Needed: window washer and general handyman. Must be willing to relocate to isolated location. Must supply own tools and equipment. Must supply own food and oxygen. Dress warmly!
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 19 2022, @12:50AM (2 children)
Could easily be a woman's job, and we'd have the perfect candidate. [meaww.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 19 2022, @01:19AM
That woman has no skillz though.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 19 2022, @02:59AM
This AC mods the parent post: -1, Spam/Off-Topic/Excessive Stigginit On An Already Right-wing Site.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 19 2022, @11:17AM (2 children)
nOboDy WaNts tO wOrK aNyMorE!!1!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 19 2022, @11:51AM (1 child)
We can always send a Guatemalan, or a Columbian. Doesn't have to be 'Murican. Who washes your windows, mirrors, and solar collectors?
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Friday May 20 2022, @02:29PM
No one does, we call that "the rain". Okay, mirrors on the inside are cleaned occasionally, usually by the stay at home Mom. Oh, wait, that's nearly a crime in today's climate. Where are the robot window / mirror cleaners? Nevermind, we've got that covered! https://www.amazon.com/HUTT-DDC55/dp/B0928VDDMN [amazon.com] Please continue with the dismantling of the home and family unit.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by ElizabethGreene on Thursday May 19 2022, @02:30PM
I wonder if they could be convinced to exchange some of the remaining power reserve to use the scoop to dig and photograph a trench.